The Next Family.com interview with Theodore Shapiro, a father who is trying to balance his family and career as a full time music conductor who is producing the upcoming music score for the movie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Diary Of A Working Dad
| Author: Susan Howard | Posted: 03/09/10 | ||
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Between conducting studio sessions with 80 plus musicians for his upcoming score in the film Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and being admonished by his 2 ½ year old son for simply not being “mom”, I got a moment to speak with Teddy Shapiro. We talked about everything from having children, cool projects and chilling in the backyard.
Susan: How has having children influenced your work?
Teddy: Before becoming a father I was more concerned with what my contemporaries might think. Having kids definitely made me interested in working on films that might be meaningful to them.
Susan: Has the motivation to do your job or the way in which you write altered after having a family?
Teddy: No. As important as my family is, my desire to make music is a burning passion for me. The music acts independently of all those other things. I had a sense that I was a composer even though I hadn’t written any compositions. I did a lot of improvising and making stuff up on the piano right away. My musical interest always varied from the classical music I was studying to the rock music I was listening to as a kid. (Some of his favorite projects have been The Devil Wears Prada, Marely and Me and Girlfight)
Susan: Is it hard to juggle being a noted composer, father and a husband?
Teddy: I really like routine so having a family has forced me to be even more regimented and I am just as productive as when I didn’t have kids. When I am at work I am really focused and then I get to walk away and spend time with my family.
Susan: Did you always want to be a working dad?
Teddy: I always knew I would be a working dad, and my wife works fulltime.
Susan: Did you have a hope that your wife would be a stay at home mom?
Teddy: No. It’s important to me that my wife be happy and feel fulfilled and so she’s able to strike a balance with work and home.
Susan: Is it nice sometimes to work out of town and get a break from family life?
Teddy: I would much rather work in town and go away on a weekend with my wife.
Susan: What’s a fun family activity?
Teddy: We bought a new house that is being redone and it has a backyard that we fell in love with. So we get food from the Farmers Market and hang out in the back yard even though the house is empty. With two kids under the age of 5 a chance to freely run around without the worry of cars or other people is a great way to spend a weekend.
Susan: What’s the difference between you as a father and how your dad fathered you?
Teddy: My father was less engaged with my sister and I when we were young and when we got older he got more engaged and coached soccer and all that. It’s a shame for fathers of his generation, many of them didn’t do a lot of diapers and they weren’t “in there” in the same way. It’s one of those things that I can relate to, having a baby and holding a new baby, there is a scary element it’s this little thing and I think that one possible way to deal with that is to let someone else deal. On the other hand, my dad is getting a second chance with being a grandparent.
Susan: Are you seeing any musical promise in either of your kids?
Teddy: Kate my daughter makes up some really hilarious songs. She sings to herself, it’s a song but the lyrics are meandering and it’s all one big long story. She likes the piano. She’s been to the studio and watched me edit music to Tropic Thunder and weeks later remembered the composition and even pin pointed the scene that goes with it.
When asked about his tips on parenting, Teddy said, “there is no such thing as a perfect parent. There is a fear that develops about doing the wrong thing, but everybody makes mistakes. You can have a general code that you live by, but the process of making parental decisions, the variables are always changing so it’s tough to know what to do. It never gets easy.”
Teddy makes it all look easy!
Diary of a Wimpy Kid opens March 19, 2010 20th Century Fox.
This is the first of our working father series on www.thenextfamily.com
Theodore Shapiro
A classically trained concert composer with an advanced degree from Juilliard, Theodore Shapiro never set out to become Hollywood’s praised “King of Comedy” composer. It is a title he has been reluctant to wear, but with over a billion dollars in worldwide box office receipts and a lengthy résumé of hit films including I Love You Man, Marley & Me, The Devil Wears Prada, Tropic Thunder and Old School, the composer has proven himself to be the go-to musician for directors seeking scores for comedy gold
The Next Family (TNF):
Founded by Brandy Black in 2009, The Next Family (TNF)- www.thenextfamily.com is a web site for Modern Families. With the growing population of non-traditional families the need was apparent for a site to address the new majority. This site speaks to single parents, interracial families, same sex parents, adoptive parents and the like. With articles, blogs, products and modern family resources it has created a lively following with national attention
